also known as Die blaue Stunde

The Blue Hour1991

Theo, a hip young, Berlin callboy lives his life alone. In the hotel room he takes his shower and his money. Business is good, so good he can pick and choose his clients. Marie lives next door with her boyfriend, the writer Paul. She works at a record store to support them both, but it is not enough. Frustrated, one day Paul decides to leave. Marie is shattered, retreating behind her door, into the darkness of her apartment. Soon, Theo knocks on the door and light slowly seeps back into Marie’s life. Slowly, both find that love is possible in the most improbable of places. But just when it seems that all the barriers have come down, Paul comes back, and the door that had opened just a crack, closes once again.

Member Reviews (13)

It was an o.k. movie, but I am afraid the storyline was written by a straight woman! Why? Well, we have a call boy at ease with his life and what it entails, but almost out of the blue, he seems attracted to a woman (who by the way had no appeal, sexually and otherwise!) and obviously seduces her. I am gay, and no way would a good looking hunk, like him, even begin to see any attraction in a woman like her. Think about it: He's 28, good looking, good personality, living alone, seemingly well off and has no compunctions about plying his trade. So, if he had these feelings for the fairer sex, he would have 'broached' this subject much sooner in his life if his orientation was a question mark with him. In other words you can't turn off and turn on your true self: you either are or are not!

Great characters, great stories that reify the intertextuality, the questions, the mysteries and the contradictions inherent in human livelihood. This is exactly the kind of movie that I like to see precisely for the same reasons that it mystified the viewer Paul S. above. When one is motivated to pigeon-hole and objectify characters within the confines of identity politics, then it is no surprise that one will leave feeling frustrated with why they 'acted differently than they should have.' And should our expectations and complacency always be gratified? If you're looking for more than the boring either/or of binaries like gay/straight, man/woman, friend/lover, blah/blah, take this film on. I'm glad I did.

This is a perfect movie when one ones to settle in one evening to watch something engaging. Without trying to, the film draws us into the lives of two neighbours who come to care for each other. It is one of those films that sits with you afterwards and resonants with thoughts about the film coming to you the next day. I wish I could tell you what I thought afterwards without spoiling it, but I will only say that it is study in human nature about those you are open to change and those who are not. An entertaining and thoughtful film to see.